Special Report: Taking Christ out of Christmas

Christian ideals, prayer targeted in public sphere, mocked by journalists.

By

Paul Wilson

December 11, 2012 - 8:58am

Ho, Ho, No – The left is fighting
to remove nativities and even Christmas trees (which are now “religious
symbols”) from the public square.

Year Round – Christmas is
increasingly just one front in the war on Christianity, as atheists and
secularists push freedom from
religion.

Christmas: a season of generosity,
good cheer, preparation for Christ’s birth – and a swarm of lawyers seeking to
purge any mention of Christianity from the public square.

Every Christmas, the so-called secular community starts
shrieking whenever any mention of religion is brought into the public eye. Lawyers
successfully targeted a school’s performance of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas.’
Even Christmas trees have too much religious content to suit the self-appointed
censors.

Secularist Grinches have long sought to obscure “the reason
for the season.” But censorship of Christianity is increasingly a media mission
for all seasons; Christians are pressured to hide their public faith under
baskets. From the media-driven assault on Christian restaurant Chick-fil-A to
increasingly snide commentary masquerading as journalism, the media are
increasingly pushing for a public retreat from religion.

And it’s working, at least according to one study. In
October, Pew reported that a fifth of the American public, and a third of
adults under 30, have no religious affiliation. And 88 percent of those people
aren’t interested in belonging to a church.

Federal, state, and local governments have taken up the
mantle of censors of publicly expressed Christianity. A lawsuit filed by 43
different Catholic institutions[1] against the Obama administration’s HHS
mandate received next to no coverage from the broadcast networks. Government
efforts have also been implemented against crosses put up in public.

Schools are also displaying increasingly hostility to
Christianity. One North Carolina
school even refused to allow a first grader to recite her poem in an assembly
because it mentioned the word God. Louisiana State University (LSU)
photo-shopped crosses out of pictures on their official website. Schools across
the South have been pressured by atheist groups to repress longstanding traditions
of prayer before football games.

The media, government, and schools, pushed by secularist
groups, aim to litigate, browbeat, and photo-shop Christianity out of the
public sphere. Christmas remains their most high-profile target, but
increasingly, it’s an all-weather campaign.

Have a Holly Jolly
Winter Festival

It wouldn’t be Christmas without the secular crowd actively
trying to censor the holiday (especially the religious aspects) out of
existence. This annual[2]assault[3] grows
more and more intensive – and more ridiculous – each year.

The most ridiculous effort was the efforts of an anonymous
parent who tried to stop production
of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”[4] at an Arkansas school, because, as attorney Anne Orsi explained: “The problem is that it’s got religious content and
it’s being performed in a religious venue and that doesn’t just blur the line
between church and state — it oversteps it entirely.”

In Hawaii,
the Department of Education canceled an
annual Christmas concert[5] over the threat of a lawsuit. A group called Hawaii
Citizens for the Separation of State and Church
objected to involvement of a church in organizing and publicizing the event,
which has for years raised money for the poor of Africa.

Back on the mainland, the city of Santa
Monica, Calif., has banned
Nativity scenes in Palisades Par[6]k, where they’d been a holiday feature for
decades. “Last year, atheists overwhelmed the city's auction
process for display sites, winning 18 of 21 slots and triggering a bitter
dispute,” according to a report. Rather than get involved in the argument, the
city simply banned all displays, and a federal judge dismissed a Christian
group’s lawsuit to for the city to repeal the policy.

Even the dreaded Christmas tree is too religious for some
people. Senior citizens in Los Angeles
were told they couldn’t have a Christmas tree in their apartment complex
because it’s a “religious
symbol[7].” Western
Piedmont Community College[8] told students that they could not use the word
“Christmas” – to promote a Christmas tree
sale. And the replacements for Christmas items are predictably secular.
Frosty the Snowman replaced a Nativity scene at
one school in the Florida[9] panhandle.

Of course, clever public officials
realize they might head off criticism and burnish their diversity credentials by
preemptively calling things by different names. That’s what liberal Rhode
Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) did last year, renaming the state capitol’s Christmas
tree a “holiday tree.” But, as Wall Street Journal columnist William
McGurn recently described it[10], “a flash mob of carolers showed up at
the lighting ceremony and delivered themselves of a rousing rendition of ‘O
Christmas Tree.’ To avoid a repeat, this year Gov. Chafee announced the tree
lighting ceremony only 30 minutes before it happened.”

This denial is singularly hypocritical, coming from a
comedian who got in trouble for showing a “vagina
manger”[12] on his program. But Stewart isn’t the only person mocking the idea
of the War on Christmas and attacking those who dare to raise the subject.
MSNBC washout and Current TV host Cenk Ugyur lashed out at Bill O’Reilly,
jokingly declaring
that the Fox News host[13] “might burn in hell” for “calling a pagan tree a
Christmas tree.”

But at least one writer on the left believes in a “war on
Christmas” – although religion has nothing to do with it. Kate
Sheppard of Mother Jones complained[16] that the real war on Christmas was
“spurred by climate change.” (Apparently, climate change is somehow responsible
for a drought killing Christmas trees.)

But that’s just the December campaign. The secular left
works the other 11 months too.

The Complicity of the
Media

While the Christmas battles tend
to be about symbols and signs of Christianity, what drives the animus the rest
of the year is outrage that Christians take their faith seriously and try to
live by its precepts. Liberal journalists who loathe religious
principles[17] also seek to marginalize any expression of traditional Christian
morality.

Christians displaying their religious faith in public have
also drawn journalistic derision. The Washington Post’s Lisa Miller derided
black pastors opposed to gay marriage[20] as “astro-turfers.” The Freedom From Religion Foundation[21], which claims to
be “an umbrella for
those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle
of separation of state and church.” filed a lawsuit against the
Internal Revenue Service, complaining that the IRS allowed Catholic bishops and
Billy Graham to get away with “blatantly
and deliberately flaunting the electioneering restrictions.” The headline
of the AP story on this subject[22] blared: Atheist Group Sues over Religious
Electioneering.”

Journalists aren’t the only self-appointed media censors of
Christianity; the entertainment industry has also actively attempted to muzzle
Christians. ESPN pulled its sponsorship of an ad by NASCAR driver Blake Koch, because he linked[23] to a Christian
ministry on his website and a group that registers pro-life voters. The
producers of American Idol warned
singer Colton Dixon[24] not to speak about his Christian faith on air. Dixon ignored the warnings
and did so anyway, and explained
his decision[25]to
Today.com[26]:

"When
we first started the Twitter and Facebook stuff, they said beware of political
and religious tweets. Just because it can turn off voters or whatever. But, you
know, being a Christian is who I am. It is a part of me musically. It is what I
want to do after the show -- go into Christian music." [...]

"I
am not going to hide it, and I am not going to stray away from it just because
I am on a TV show."

Christians like Dixon argue that they cannot be silent
about their faith in public, since their faith is inextricably bound up with
their public activities. To force devout Christians to be silent about their
faith in public is to effectively drive them from the public square altogether.

Media Cheers on Government Suppression

But the media isn’t the only group with an aversion to God –
government is also cracking down of public expression of Christianity. Georgetown University was literally asked to do
just that during Obama’s May 2012 visit to the campus, covering
over the name of Jesus[27] at the request of the White House.

Government attempts to run roughshod over religious liberty
(not to mention the fact that segments of the Democratic
party[28] sought to purge God from their platform) have apparently emboldened
secularists to push for ever greater religious repression. The anti-religion
crusaders at the Freedom From Religion Foundation requested that President
Obama not
use the Bible[29] during his second inauguration ceremony. And the American
Humanist Organization is
pressuring newly elected members[30] not to join the Congressional Prayer
Caucus (which
only Fox covered[31]).

The most glaring example of government’s disregard for
Christianity is the Obama administration’s HHS mandate, which forces religious-affiliated
institutions to pay insurance companies to provide contraception. Since the
Catholic Church considers
contraception to be a moral evil,[32] the Obama administration is effectively forcing
Catholic-affiliated institutions to violate
their consciences, pay enormous fines, sell off their institutions, or shut down[20].
The administration argues that the mandate does not concern actual churches,
just religiously affiliated organizations like schools and hospitals. In
effect, the government is determining where religious belief begins and ends
and when its observance is legitimate.

And the media have given cover to the government’s
overreach. 43
Catholic organizations sued[1] the federal government in May 2012 over the HHS
mandate – and the three broadcast networks responded by burying
the story[33] – only CBS and NBC even mentioned the lawsuit (NBC once, CBS
twice). ABC completely buried the story.

State and local governments in America and abroad have
increasingly tried to force Christians to swallow their objections to
supporting gay relationships, winning
media plaudits[34].

Government efforts in foreign
countries to repress public expression of Christianity have met with approval from
the American media. Washington Post reporter Anthony Faioli lambasted[35]
a “small fringe” on the “far right” for daring to oppose a ban on public prayer
in Britain.

When German Prime Minister Angela
Merkel declared
in a Nov. 2012 speech[36] that Christianity was the “most persecuted” sect in
the world, the Associated Press’ recounting of Merkel’s comments featured the headline[37]:
“Merkel’s ‘Christian Persecution’ Comments Draw Ire.”

The soft stick of tolerance wielded by government is proving
increasingly repressive in its own right.

God-Free School Zone

Education gets you more than reading, writing, and
arithmetic – it also gives you a chance to be silenced if you have religious
beliefs. Schools are actively playing the part of the secular police – or being
pressured to do so by groups dedicated to establishing “freedom from religion”
in America.

Some schools have proven more that willing participants in the
cause of Christianity-purging. The most ridiculous case was that of a first
grader being forced to remove God[38] from her poem about her two grandfathers
who served in the Vietnam War.

LSU digitally
removed Christian crosses[39] from pictures shown on their website. LSU
official Herb Vincent explained the school’s reasoning: “LSU Athletics attempts not to imply any particular
religious or political message in any of its correspondence with fans. Thus the
crosses were edited out of the photos.”

Other schools are being targeted by anti-religious groups.
The ACLU
has warned public schools[40] not to participate in school prayer. And the Freedom
from Religion Foundation has proven to be even more active opponents of
Christianity in schools, targeting schools for prayer before football games.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has threatened multiple[41]schools[42]
with traditions of prayer before games, by sending letters arguing that their
actions are unconstitutional.

One Texas
school tried to ban cheerleaders from publicly displaying banners which quote
Scripture after being challenged by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A judge
eventually tossed out that objection[43].

Conclusion

Christmas is one of the few celebrations that most of America
wholeheartedly embraces. It is a federal holiday, which practically everyone in
America
still celebrates.

So the media and secularizing influences have sought to drain
Christmas of any religious significance, by purging anything which might be
considered religious – from the name Christmas, to trees, to the horror of the Nativity
scene.

And their efforts have extended past the Christmas season –
any time is a good time for purging the name of God from the public eye.